Turn Old Fruit into Wine with This New Device

Turning waste into wine is one of early 2017's gifts to humankind. There's recently been a ton of buzz about the Alchema at-home fermentation system, which turns your unused fruit into wine, cider, and mead. You simply pour in the ingredients (measured by an internal scale and tracked by the accompanying app), push the button on the app, and let the Alchema do its thing.

The machine connects via Wi-Fi, so you can check on that batch of cider while you're out getting cheese and charcuterie to enjoy with it. The app walks you through every step of the fermenting process, includes recipes, and also helps you customize characteristics like the drink's alcohol content (ranging from 3.2 to 10.8 percent alcohol) and sweetness.

Mashable's Brian Koerber notes the device also sends out an alert if the temperature gets too high (which could cause spoilage) during fermentation. Koerber also notes he saw a cider made in person in about five minutes (although the brewing for cider can take up to two weeks, with wine taking even longer) and says the versions he tried were "quite tasty."

This machine isn't cheap at $499 a pop ($429 during the current presale) and looks like it takes up some serious real estate in a small kitchen. However, if you have the space and money and have always wanted to try home fermentation, this could be an irresistible way to spend that holiday money burning a hole in your pocket.